Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is a pioneer in the areas of virtual reality (VR), interactive visualization, and digital twins. Her work has translated to standard tools in industry, government, and academia. She is known world-wide for being the creator of the CAVE VR system and for transferring research into practice by spearheading several Open-Source initiatives, such as VRJuggler, and by leading entrepreneurial initiatives to commercialize research. She has over 100 publications and has been awarded over 0 million in grants, contracts, and donations. She is recognized for founding successful VR research centers: the Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State University, the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, and the Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas. She serves in international technology boards, government technology advisory committees. She enjoys intersecting her research with the arts and the humanities through performances and installations. She has been named one of the top innovators in virtual reality and one of the top three greatest women visionaries in VR. She is the first person inducted to the National Academy of Engineering for contributions to immersive technologies and VR, she is a member of the IEEE VR Academy, an IEEE Fellow, and an ACM Computer Pioneer; She received the IEEE VR Achievement Award and the International Digital Media & Arts Society Distinguished Career Award among many national and international recognitions. She has given numerous keynote addresses and she advises government on how VR can help to give industries a competitive edge leading to regional economic growth. She has appeared in numerous national and international TV shows and podcasts as an expert on her discipline and several documentaries have been produced about her life and career. Currently, Dr. Cruz is the Agere Chair in Computer Science at the University of Central Florida.